Ultimate Game Day Dessert: Football Whoopie Pies

The Super Bowl is perhaps the most widely watched sporting event of the year, with millions of viewers across the country. Even if you don’t watch football the rest of the season, you make an exception for the Super Bowl. This is because the Super Bowl is just as much about food as it is about the game – and who doesn’t like an excuse to throw a party with a bunch of delicious snacks? Super Bowl fare is primarily savory, with everything from chicken wings and chili to pizza and nachos, but I always feel that dessert is an important part of the celebration, as well. These Football Whoopie Pies just might be the ultimate Super Bowl dessert, since they really capture the spirit of the sport.

The whoopie pies are made with a chocolate whoopie pie batter that is formed into football shapes before baking. If you happen to have a football shaped pan (I do not), you can pipe your batter into the pan and bake it there, but most of us will have to free-hand our footballs. Drop a round dollop of batter onto a baking sheet, then use a spatula to drag the edges into points, forming the shape of a football. I actually feel it is easiest to use your finger, rather than a spatula, however a spatula keeps things a bit cleaner. Once the shapes are formed, you will need to pipe the laces onto the cakes using contrasting color of whoopie pie batter. The pies will hold their shape as they bake, and the white laces will meld into the chocolate batter creating a perfect football look. You only need to pipe the design onto half of the cookies, but I always do a few extra just in case some don’t turn out the way I want them to.

The cakes have a great chocolate flavor to them and are moist and fluffy. After they have cooled, pair them up according to size and fill them with chocolate buttercream. Eating one is a lot like eating an inside out cupcake, since the frosting is the filling of these pies. They’re not too big – just a couple of bites – so you’ll definitely have room for one or two even after snacking throughout the game!

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, sugars, egg and vanilla extract until well-combined. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk. Stir in remaining flour, mixing just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Divide batter, transferring two heaping tablespoons of it into a second bowl and set aside. This is for the laces.
In another small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and coffee until well-combined. Add the cocoa mixture to the rest of the batter, mixing until the color is uniform.
Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula (or your finger) trace around the edges of the cake to shape each dollop of batter into a football. You should have 30-32 individual cookies.
Transfer remaining white batter into a piping bag or a ziploc bag and cut a small opening in the corner. Pipe a lace design on top of each chocolate football.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and spring back when lightly pressed. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.